Meatball Subs & Potato Chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until combined and let sit until foamy, approximately 5-8 minutes. Add flour, salt, and vegetable oil and mix with dough hook until dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 6-8 minutes. Add more flour if needed, but dough should be just barely sticky and manageable by hand. Form into a ball and place into a greased bowl, flipping once to grease all sides of dough. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area for 45 minutes.

Once risen, punch down dough and separate into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into an oval and place on a sil-pat or parchment covered baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Use scissors or a knife to cut two slices across the top of the bread, approximately 1/4 inch deep. Cover and let rise again for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bake for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt if desired. Let cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife for serving.

3-4 medium russet potatoes

Sea Salt

4 cups vegetable or canola oil

Preheat oil (in a safe place, out of child's reach) to 400 degrees. Using a mandolin, slice potatoes as thin as possible. Place sliced potatoes in a big bowl of cold water and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Rinse well, and place potatoes in a single layer over paper towels to dry completely.

15-20 slices at a time, carefully drop potatoes into hot oil. Allow potatoes to cook for 3-5 minutes per batch, or until chips are completely crispy and light golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel covered plate and allow to drain. While draining, season the chips with your choice of seasoning. Repeat process until all chips are cooked.

These don't have to be served warm and can be made in advance. They will stay crispy if stored in an airtight container once cooled. Please be careful using hot oil with children around!

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound ground beef

1 large onion, finely chopped, divided (1/2 for meatballs, 1/2 for marinara)

1 cup italian style bread crumbs (or panko or white instant rice)

1 large egg

2 Tablespoons dried basil

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 4 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped)

1/4 cup of milk or half and half

In a large dutch oven, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. In a large bowl, combine beef, 1/2 of a large onion, bread crumbs, egg, basil, pepper, salt, garlic powder and milk. Use your hands to combine. Form mixture into meatballs, approximately 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Place meatballs into dutch oven and brown slightly on all sides, using a pair of tongs to carefully flip as needed. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and transfer par-cooked meatballs to a parchment or sil-pat lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

15 oz can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes

Drippings from above meatball recipe

1/2 of a large onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

After removing the meatballs from the dutch oven, add the other onion half and saute until onions are becoming clear and transparent. Add tomatoes, butter, pepper and oregano and simmer until meatballs come out of the oven, about 25 minutes. Add meatballs back to the sauce or serve the sauce separately for topping.

Slice bread with a serrated knife. Place 2-3 meatballs on each sandwich, and top with warm marinara and shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with your favorite sandwich toppings - we use grated parmesan, black olives and pickles at our house!